After backlash, Star Sports was forced to 'sack' Virat Kohli from the IND vs NZ poster
The official broadcaster of the ICC World Cup 2023's Star Sports was embroiled in controversy ahead of the highly anticipated IND vs. NZ semi-final clash. The broadcaster’s move to have former Indian skipper Virat Kohli on one of the match banners instead of current skipper Rohit Sharma seemingly infuriated the fans. The broadcaster bore the wrath of the ICT fans, who took to X to call out Star Sports and accuse them of attempting to divide Indian fans.
It all started with Star Sports having a poster of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup IND vs. NZ semis clash. Fans were quick to point out that the broadcaster should have ideally had Rohit Sharma in the poster, as opposed to Kohli. Logically, the argument is sound, as is the fact that the poster consists of one skipper Kane Williamson, so naturally it should have featured the Hitman.
One of the users wrote on X, “Never mess with Karma and Rohit Sharma. We owned Kohli and Star Sports.” Another user wrote, "The so-called Face of Cricket is removed from the Star Sports promo,” and so on.